We tried 10 pumpkin beers from Portland stores -- here's how they ranked

If you're the type of person who looks down your crinkled-up nose when the words “pumpkin beers” come into your consciousness, just stop reading. There's nothing for you to see here (though that probably won't stop you from commenting).

But if you are the type of person who loves running through the yard crunching yellow-red leaves underfoot while sporting your favorite scarf-and-cap combo just pulled from the closet – all the while sipping from an orange-and-black-labeled pumpkin ale bottle (and who hasn't done that?), then read on, autumnal friend.

That's right, our occasional pumpkin beer rating is back (we did it once in 2015), with old favorites and new offerings.

To address a frequently asked question, pumpkin beers don't all contain actual pumpkin. Some do, but others use adjuncts like yams, squash or spices to mimic pumpkin flavor – or even just the tastes of fall and Thanksgiving, like cloves, pumpkin spice, nutmeg, cinnamon, etc. Back east, these beers are all the rage from early September right through Halloween, but here in the hop-capital-of-the-world Pacific Northwest, we have a little thing called fresh-hop season staring us in the mouth through the beginning of fall until about – well, about now.

So, before turning your attention to winter ales, you've got a month or so to go the way of the gourd. We gathered five of The Oregonian/OregonLive newsroom's pickiest beer palates to help guide your choices. We sipped through and rated 10 pumpkin beers from across the country, including five from Oregon, two from Seattle, two from Colorado, and one from Delaware. But all were from bottles found and bought in Portland stores, where you can find them and more.

We judged on a 1-to-10 scale, 10 being the best. So here are our ratings, from worst to best, including select thoughts from our judges:

10: The Great Pumpkin (average score: 4.2 out of 10)

Elysian Brewing, Seattle

Mark Graves/Staff

Imperial pumpkin ale (8.4% ABV)

Purchased at Belmont Station, 4500 S.E. Stark St., $9.35 (22 oz)

A different Elysian Brewing pumpkin beer, Dark O' The Moon Pumpkin Stout, was the winner in our 2015 tasting, so we're surprised this beer didn't rank higher. Elysian has a significant pumpkin focus, brewing eight pumpkin beers this year and hosting a pumpkin beer festival in Seattle early in October.